Sources told Reuters that CVC Capital Partners had been negotiating with South Beauty Investment Co Ltd to acquire a majority stake in the latter. The sources also added that the buyout talks are in the advance stages. Should the deal push through, the stake sale would be valued at USD300 million.
On Thursday, Thomson Reuters publication Basis Point provided the rest of the details regarding the stake sale. The terms of the deal would have CVC acquire a 69% ownership stake in the Chinese restaurant chain. The rest of the stake would be owned by South Beauty founder Zhang Lan. Basis Point also added that Bank of America Corp ahd been tapped as CVC's advisor, with the bank arranging a USD140 million loan to finance the acquisition.
Cayman-registered South Beauty is an operator of several high-end restaurants to the business and political elite of China. Founded in 2000, it has restaurants across mainland China including Shenyang, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing.
CVC and Bank of America refused to comment about the acquisition. South Beauty, on the other hand, has yet to respond to Reuter's request for a comment about the matter.
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